Trigger safety for automatic firearms



`Ful-11e 22, 1943. G wEBB 2,322,490

',TRIGGER SAFETY FOR AUTOMATIC FIREARMS \0 Wiled May 22, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 u Il QH Il Q @JL-(9)1- l rl l 550x375 Webb riz- @y ,1 Tav/Xx@ tarngjf Jim@ 22, T943.. G, WEBB '2,322,490

TRIGGER SAFETY FOR AUTOMATIC FIREARMS l Filed May 22, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 |i Wl EMM 7m/enf: or @sarge Webb Patented .lune 22, 1943 NlTED STATES PATENT OFFICE TRIGGER SAFETY FOR AUTOMATIC FIREARMS Application May 22, 1941, Serial No. 394,683

lil Claims.

The present invention relates to automatic firearms of the type wherein the rst cartridge of a feeder assembly is fed into the feed box and charged into the barrel of the gun by Inanual operation, and thereafter the succeeding cartridges are automatically fed and charged into the gun for firing so long as the trigger is held in its firing position.

A similar arrangement so far as functioning is concerned generally is shown in my co-pending application Serial No. 325,405 wherein I have disclosed and described in detail a manually operable feed slide movable longitudinally of thel feed box and adapted for use particularly in connection with .37 mm. or similar cartridges. In connection with the construction shown and described in my said co-pending application, misring o-r jamming is possible because of the fact that feeding of the cartridges can be effected with the trigger in firing position.

With the foregoing in mind, the principal general object of my present invention may `be stated to reside in the provision of means to prevent misfiring and jamming by the provision of a 'member co-operable with the trigger and with the manually operable charging slide whereby the charging slide is blocked against movement if the trigger is in ring position or has been moved toward ring position, and whereby the trigger is blocked against movement t firing position when the charging slide is moved to its rearward or cartridge feeding position. In other words, the present invention prevents operation of the trigger and also operation of the charging slide unless and until the rst cartridge has been charged into the br-eech end of the barrel of the firearm so that jamming and misfiring is positively prevented.

In the accompanying drawings, I have shown the now preferred embodiment of the invention, but it will be understood that the drawings are intended for illustrative purposes only and are not to be construed as defining or limiting the scope of the invention, the claims forming a part of this specification being relied upon for that purpose.

ln the drawings,

Fig. l is a top plan view of the breech casing of an automatic firearm and fragments of other partof the gun. 'with parts broken away to clearly illustrate the present invention;

Fig. 2 is e. side elevation of the part of the gun shown in Fig. l.;

3 is a fragmentary end view of the rear end of the feed box;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary plan view showing the position of the parts when the trigger has been pulled and the means operable by the trigger is fully established in position to block charging movement of the manually operable charging slide;

Fig. 5 is a View similar to Fig. 1 showing the charging slide partly retracted and blocking movement of the trigger to its firing position; and

Fig. 6 is a top plan view of the feed box with the cover removed, and showing portions 0f the breech casing on which the feed box is mounted.

As shown in the drawings, the breech casing supports a feed box 6 which contains the cartridge feeding mechanism and which is provided with a transverse feed channel 'l through which the cartridges are successively advanced. To af ford access to the feeding mechanism within the feed bo-x, the feed box is provided with a cover 8, removably mounted on the feed box, as shown and described in detail in my said co-pending application. A cartridge feeder assembly (that is, a conveyor or strip loaded with cartridges) support or tray may be detachably connected to the feed box and is designated by the numeral 9. This cartridge feeder support is shown and described in detail in my said {zo-pending application and is located at the inlet end of the feed channel. The cartridge feeder strip or assembly is designated in Fig. 6 by the numeral lil, and is fed through the feed channel 1 from the inlet end thereof by mechanism also described in detail in my said co-pending application. I deem it sufcient, in this application, to refer generally to the parts of the feeding mechanism, mentioned above in connection with my said copending application without going into the details thereof.

The feed box 5 contains members of the cartridge feeding mechanism and is provided with the said transverse channel 'l into which the feeder assembly is initially inserted manually. The feeder strip is provided with spaced notches l on the longitudinal top edges thereof to successively engage with pawls i2 and i3 (corresponding to the pawls 'l2 and 'i3 of my said copending application) and operative in the same manner. The pawl i3 serves the purpose of retaining the feeder assembly against retrograde movement and is so constructed and arranged as to permit the passage of the feeder assembly thereby before the preceding notch l! in the longitudinal edge of the feeder strip confronting the said pawls and passing thereacross is engagcd by the pawl i2 which limits forward movement of the feeder assembly by engagement in said preceding notch. YAny suitable means may be provided for withdrawing the pawls I2 and I3 from the notches to permit removal by retrograde movement of the feeder assembly so that it may be withdrawn from the feed channel 'I if the full load of cartridges contained in the feeder assembly have not been fired.

In Fig. 6, I have illustrated cartridge C in proper position to be charged into the gun for firing and cartridge C in proper position to follow the cartridge C after cartridge C has been charged into the gun by initial manual operation of the charging slide about to be described, so

that thereafter the cartridges may be red in proper sequence from the first cartridge to the last in the feeder assembly.

Upon initial insertion of the cartridge feeder assembly I into the feed channel, the beveled corner I0' of the feed strip cams back the pawls I2 and I3. Obviously, if too much pressure or force is applied to the cartridge feeder assembly, the successive notches, at least the first two, may ride past the pawls I2 and I3 delivering two cartridges to the charging mechanism. Furthermore, if the first cartridge, under the construction of my said co-pending application Serial No. 325,405, is charged into the chamber of the barrel while the trigger is held back in position to release the trigger bar, accidental firing may occur upon release of the trigger.

The means for charging the rst cartridge into the gun after it has, or is assumed to have, arrived at proper charging position comprises, as illustrated in the drawings, although the manually operable charging slide may be widely varied both as to construction and operation, mechanism mounted above the cover 8 of the feed box and comprising a specially constructed charging slide or plate I5 slidable in grooves I6 provided on the cover 8 of the feed box, the cover 8 normally being held in place on the feed box by spring latches I1. An opening I8 is provided through the charging slide for purposes to be described. A stud I9 is secured to the feed slide and is adapted for engagement by means, to be described, on the charging slide to initially move the feeder assembly transversely through the feed channel from the inlet end thereof. Secured to the charging slide by suitable means and extending upwardly therefrom is a handle 2| by which the charging slide may be manually reciprocated longitudinally of the feed box to initially charge the first cartridge into the breech chamber of the barrel. This movement positions the succeeding cartridges relative to the transverse feeding mechanism for automatic charging into the breech chamber of the barrel during automatic operation of the gun.

A bracket 22 is secured to the rear portion of the cover 8 and supports the rear end of a tube 251. A bracket is secured to the upper surface of the charging slide I5 and is provided with a projection extending upward into the tube 251. A rod extends longitudinally through the tube 251 and is secured at its rear end to the bracket 22 by a nut 2li. Another nut 2l! is threaded on the front end of the rod to limit the forward movement of the bracket 25 and charging slide I5. A compression spring is disposed within the tube around the rod and is interposed between the bracket 22 and the projection of bracket 25, whereby the compression spring normally maintains the bracket 25 in its forward position indicated in Fig. 1. The forward nut 24 not only serves as a stop to limit the forward movement of the bracket 25 and charging slide I5 but said nut also comprises an adjusting means for properly positioning the charging slide I5 on the cover 8. When the charging slide is in its normal and forward position, the opening I8 therein is disposed substantially vertically above the stud I9 on the feed slide 20. When the charging slide I5 is being assembled with the operating mechanism therefor on the cover 8, the forward nut 24 is rotated in the proper direction against the force of the compression spring to finally dispose the opening I8 above the stud I9. Following this the forward nut may be maintained in proper adjusted position by any suitable means such as a cotter pin. Tube 251 is slotted at its bottom to provide clearance for the upward extension of the bracket 25 during reciprocating movement of the charging slide I5. The feed slide 2i), which operates transversely of the feed channel and carries the usual feed pawls which intermittently move the feeder assembly through the feed channel and operate the pawls I2 and I3 during feeding of the cartridges to the charging mechanism, is actuated by means of the mechanism best shown in Fig. 6 (corresponding substantially to Fig. 11 of my said (xo-pending application, Serial No. 325,405). In said c0- pending application, the mechanism for operating the feed slide is shown and described in detail. A similar arrangement will be found in Patent 1,525,065.

In my Fig. 6 of the present application, which corresponds closely to the construction and arrangement shown in said co-pending application, the numeral 26 designates one arm of a bell crank lever vertically pivoted at 21, the other arm 28 of said bell crank lever extending forwardly in the feed box. The arm 26 of said bell crank lever which extends toward the right across the breech casing receives a vertical cylindrical head 29. while the arm 28 of said bell crank lever is provided adjacent its forward end with a stud 3U disposed in a slot 3| in the arm 32 of a second lever pivotally mounted at 33 on a portion of the support for the feed slide guide. The other arm 34 of said second lever at its forward end is suitably connected to the feed slide 20 to effect reciprocating movement of the feed slide transversely of the feed channel during movement of the feeder assembly the detailed function of which is all explained in detail in my said co-pending application.

Also, as in my said co-pending application. (see Fig. 38 thereof) the charging slide has a raised portion (corresponding to the raised portion |03a on charging slide |03 in my said copending application) which serves as a housing for a cam 35. The cam 35 has a portion 35 rigidly secured to the charging slide and preferably also a portion 31 which is pivoted to the slide I5 at 3B (this cam arrangement being the same as III, IIIe- I Ib as shown and described in my said co-pending application Serial No. 325.405).

Obviously, when the longitudinally operable charging slide I5 is moved rearward by means of the handle 2| provided thereon to be manually grasped, the cam 35 is moved to engage the pin I9 on feed slide 20 to move the feed slide to the right, or in feeding direction of the cartridges, for charging said cartridges into the gun at the approximate end of the movement of the slide toward the right, the pin I9 will clear the end of cam 35 and the feed slide will then automatically move as indicated by the arrows back to its normal position at the left side of the breech casing. When the charging slide handle is released, the charging slide is returned in the forward direction by the spring Within the tube 251.

When certain automatic rearms are initially operated with meticulous exactitude, the component parts will function with perfection. However, in other automatic firearms, the weight of the feeder assemblies and the haste with which they must be inserted into the gun make it necessary to provide means for preventing accidental discharge of the gun as might occur when the trigger is held back during the initial feeding. The foregoing explanation is given purely for the purposes of perspicuity in order that the present invention may be better understood.

In Figs. 1, 2, and 6 of the drawings, the numeral 4I designates the finger engageable portion of the trigger 42 which is manually operable to effect firing of the cartridges and is pivoted on a traverse axis 43 at the rear of the breech casing, The numeral 44 designates a member for operating the trigger by means of a solenoid (the solenoid and connection with the member 44 not being shown). The member 44 is pivotally mounted at 45 between brackets or extensions at one side of the back plate of the breech casing. The approximate center portion of the member 44 is notched as indicated at 46 in Fig. 6. The upper end of the trigger 42 is notched and preferably slightly curved, the notch being indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2 by the numeral 4l, the slightly curved edge or face 48 on the top of the trigger extending transversely thereacross.

A safety interlock between the trigger and charging slide comprises lever 49 pivotally mounted at 50 on the top of the cover plate 8 the lever having a relatively short vertically offset arm 5I. The outer or rear end of the upper portion of the arm 5I, designated by the numeral 52, is beveled and is seated in the notch 4l with the beveled edge 52 normally contacting the slightly curved edge 48 on top of the trigger 42. Forward of the pivot 50 the lever 49 is provided with a relatively long arm or bar 53 offset laterally to provide portions 54 and 55. A spring pressed plunger 56 is mounted in bracket 22 and engages the arm 5I of the lever 49, forcing the arm 5I in a direction to normally compel contact between the beveled end of the upper portion 52 of the arm 5I and the slightly curved surface 48 on the top of the trigger. It will be noticed by reference to Fig. 2 that the lever 49 is disposed on and is swingable across the top of the feed box, and at times is beneath the charging slide I5, as when the charging slide I5 is retracted. Rocking movement of the trigger 42 on its transverse axis 43 causes rocking or swinging movement of the lever 49 on its vertical axis 5i! due to the cam action between the confrontinrf ends of the respective parts. When the trigger hook 4I is pulled rearward, the long arm 55 of the lever 49 is swung to the right and when the trigger hook 4I is released the spring pressed plunger 59 acting against the short arm 5I causes the long arm 55 to be returned to the full line position of Fig. 1.

The longitudinally movable charging slide I5 carries a longitudinally extending plate or stop 59 connected to the rear end of the underside of said charging slide at the right side thereof. When the parts are in the normal or full line position of Fig. l, that is, with the charging slide I5 and the plate 58 carried thereby in the forward position, the arm of the lever 49 will not interfere or block rearward movement of the charging slide I5; but if the trigger is pulled to its rearmost position it will move the forward end of the arm 55 of lever 49 to the positionV shown in Fig. 4 which illustrates the full extent of the movement of the lever 49 by the trigger. It is also important to note that movement of the trigger to any extent tending to effect firing will move the lever 49 sufiiciently to position the end of the arm 55 in front of the rear end of the plate 58 to constitute a positive stop to prevent rearward movement of the charging slide I5, thus preventing manual feeding of a cartridge into the breech of the barrel by blocking movement of the manual feeding mechanism so long as pressure is applied to the trigger. In other Words, if the trigger is pulled and the handle 2| of the slide I5 is pulled rearward no misfiring or jamming can occur because at any point between the dot and dash line position 59 of the lever 55 in Fig. 1 and the full line position in Fig. 4 the forward end of arm 55 will present a barrier to rearward movement of the charging slide which is necessary to accomplish movement of the feeding mechanism to effect entrance of a succeeding cartridge into the feed channel 'I.

Another important feature of the construction and arrangement provided by my present invention is that while the charging slide I5 may be retracted by pulling rearward on the handle 2| when the lever 49 is in the full line position of Fig. 1, misfiring or jamming will be prevented because the plate 53 will be established along the right side edge of the arm 55 of the lever 49 as shown in Fig. 5 thus preventing operation of the trigger during the aforementioned feeding and charging operations. In this connection, it Will f be noted that lateral movement to the right of the arm 55 can be effected only when the plate 58 is in the full line position of Fig. 1, and, of course, lateral movement to the right of the arm 55 of the lever 49 must be had before the trigger can effect operation of the firing mechanism. This is true Whether the trigger is operated manually or by a solenoid or other automatic firing mechanism.

A stud 6l] is provided on the cover 8 adjacent the left side of the arm 55 to constitute a stop to movement of the arm 55 on the lever 49 to the left and normally maintain the lever 49 in the full line position of Fig. 1 under the action of the spring pressed plunger 55 which bears against the arm 5I of the lever 49.

In the drawings, particularly Fig. 6, the numeral 6I designates the carrier which insures positive movement of the cartridges into charging position relative to the chamber of the barrel or breech end thereof. This carrier is constructed and operated in accordance with the disclosure of the carrier 60 and associated parts of my said copending application 325,405, so that it is deemed unnecessary to make any detailed description of the construction and operation thereof in the present application.

It should be obvious from the foregoing that the invention provides against misring or jamming by preventing manual charging of the gun While the trigger is in or moved toward firing position, and also preventing movement of the trigger toward or into firing position While the charging slide l5 is in full or any intermediate retracted position.

What I claim is:

1. A safety device for an automatic firearm including a breech casing having a feed channel extending therethrough and containing cartridge feeding mechanism adapted for automatic actuation during the firing of the firearm to move a feeder assembly through the feed channel and the firearm also including a trigger movable for initiating firing of the firearm and means manually movable to effect manual feeding of a feeder assembly into said feed channel, said safety device comprising means mounted on the firearm and adapted to be engaged by the trigger upon actuation thereof to maintain said device in a position to engage the manual feeding means and prevent feeding movement thereof.

2. A safety device for an automatic firearm including a breech casing having a feed channel extending therethrough and containing cartridge feeding mechanism adapted for automatic actua- 'tion during the firing of the firearm to move a feeder assembly through the feed channel and the firearm also including a trigger movable to initiate firing of the firearm and means manually movable to effect manual feeding of a feeder assembly into said feed channel, said safety device comprising means mounted on the firearm and adapted to be engaged by the manual feeding means and maintained in a position to engage and obstruct movementJ of the trigger toward firing position While said manual feeding means is being actuated.

3. A safety device for an automatic firearm including a breech casing having a feed channel extending therethrough and containing cartridge feeding mechanism adapted for automatic actuation during the firing of the firearm to move a feeder assembly through the feed channel and the firearm also including a trigger movable to initiate firing of the firearm and means manually movable to effect manual feeding of a feeder assembly into said feed channel, said safety device comprising interlocking means mounted on the firearm and having portions to respectively engage the trigger and manual feeding means and adapted to be selectively positioned to obstruct movement of the trigger toward its firing position when the manual feeding means is being actuated and obstruct movement of the manual feeding means while the trigger is being actuated.

4. A safety device for an automatic firearm including a breech casing having a feed channel extending therethrough and containing cartridge feeding mechanism adapted for automatic actuation during the firing of the firearm to move a feeder assembly through the feed channel and the firearm also including a trigger movable to initiate firing of the firearm and manually movable means to effect feeding of a feeder assembly into said feed channel, said safety device comprising interlocking means movably mounted on the firearm and having portions respectively and normally in engagement with the trigger and manual feeding means and the interlocking means being selectively operable by the trigger when moved toward firing position to position the interlocking means to obstruct movement of the manual feeding means and operable by the manual feeding means during the feeding movement thereof to position the interlocking means to obstruct movement of the ltrigger to the firing position.

5. A safety device for an automatic firearm including a breech casing having a feed channel extending therethrough and containing cartridge feeding mechanism adapted for automatic actuation during the firing of the firearm to move a feeder assembly through the feed channel and the firearm also including a trigger movable to initiate firing of the firearm and manually movable charging means to effect manual feeding of a feeder assembly into said feed channel, said safety device comprising in combination, a bar movably mounted on the firearm and having portions respectively adapted to engage the trigger and charging means, and means on said trigger and movable thereby to engage the trigger engaging portion of said bar when the trigger is moved toward firing position to move the charging means engaging portion of said bar into position to obstruct movement of the charging means.

6. A safety device for an automatic firearm including a breech casing having a feed channel extending therethrough and containing cartridge feeding mechanism adapted for automatic actuation during the firing of the firearm to move a feeder assembly through the feed channel and the firearm also including a trigger movable to initiate firing of the firearmy and manually movable charging means to effect manual feeding of a feeder assembly into said feed channel, said safety device comprising in combination, a bar movably mounted on the firearm and having portions respectively adapted to engage the trigger and charging means, and means on the charging means adapted during movement thereof in feeding direction to engage and position said bar to prevent movement of the trigger toward firing position.

7. A safety device for an automatic firearm including a breech casing having a feed channel extending therethrough and containing cartridge feeding mechanism adapted for automatic actuation during the firing of the firearm to move a feeder assembly through the feed channel and the firearm also including a trigger movable to initiate firing of the firearm and manually movable charging means to effect manual feeding of a feeder assembly into said feed channel, said safety device comprising in combination, a bar movably mounted on the firearm and having portions respectively adapted to engage the trigger and charging means, means on said trigger adapted to engage the trigger engaging portion of said bar when the trigger is moved toward firing position to position the charging means engaging portion of said bar to obstruct movement of the charging means, and means on the charging means adapted during movement thereof in feeding direction to engage said bar and position the same to engage said means on said trigger and prevent movement of the trigger in feeding direction.

8. A safety device for an automatic firearm including a breech casing having a feed channel extending therethrough and containing cartridge feeding mechanism adapted for automatic actuation during the firing of the firearm to feed cartridges through the feed channel and the firearm also containing a trigger movable to initiate firing of the firearm and a manually movable charging slide reciprocable longitudinally of the breech casing to effect manual feeding of a feeder assembly through said feed channel, said safety device comprising in combination, a bar pivotally mounted on said breech casing, means on said trigger adapted to engage a portion of said bar, and stop means on said charging slide adapted t0 engage another portion of said bar, said bar being movable by the means on said trigger when moved toward firing position to position the bar to engage the stop means on said charging slide and obstruct movement thereof.

9. A safety device for an automatic firearm including a breech casing having a feed channel extending therethrough and containing cartridge feeding mechanism adapted for automatic actuation during the firing of a firearm to feed cartridges through the feed channel and the firearm also including a trigger movable to initiate ring of the rearm and a manually movable charging slide reciprocable longitudinally of the breech casing to effect manual feeding of a feeder assembly through said feed channel, said safety device comprising in combination, a bar pivotally mounted on said breech casing, means on said trigger adapted to engage a portion of said bar. and means on said charging slide adapted to engage another portion of said bar, said bar being operable by said means on the charging slide when moved in charging direction to position said bar to engage said means on said trigger to prevent movement of said trigger toward firing position.

10. A safety device for an automatic firearm including a breech casing having a feed channel extending therethrough and containing cartridge feeding mechanism adapted for automatic actuation during the firing of the rearm to feed cartridges through the feed channel and the firearm also containing a trigger movable to initiate firing of the firearm and a manually movable charging slide reciprocable longitudinally of the breech casing to effect manual feeding of a feeder assembly through said feed channel, said safety device comprising in combination, a bar pivotally mounted on said breech casing, means on said trigger adapted to engage a portion of said bar, and stop means on said charging slide adapted to engage another portion of said bar, said bar being movable by the means on said trigger When moved toward ring position to position.` the bar to engage the stop means on said charging slide and obstruct movement thereof and said stop means on the charging slide also being adapted when moved in charging direction to position said bar to engage said means on said trigger and prevent movement of the trigger to- Ward firing position.

GEORGE WEBB. 

